Coaching The Undecided Employee

I set down at the computer and routinely write on a variety of subjects related to online business and team building. I also write on the wonder of becoming an entrepreneur and developing a home-based or on-line business. This may seem like contradictory advice and you would have every right to ask which side of the debate I am on.

Well, it depends entirely in the situation. I have seen businesses that are woefully inadequate when it comes to employee recruitment and retention efforts. The employees they are able to hire may not be a good fit and the employee is often immediately interested in using this job as a stepping-stone to something better.

On the other hand there are businesses that are excellent in both employee recruitment and retention. The reasons may be many, but one of the most important reasons is that the employer (or as I like to refer to them, team leader) sees their staff (team) as an asset to be cherished instead of a commodity to be used. Too many employees have been used up and discarded because there was never an effort to build back into the individuals that help make a business succeed.

When an employee finds himself or herself in this second type of atmosphere they may be well suited to long-term employment in a more team-oriented environment.

Working together as a team provides enormous benefits in that the team draws from the strength of each member to bring about a dynamic that is beyond individual components.

As I climb over the proverbial fence I find a large group of former employees who grew weary enough of being consumed by their former employers that they determined that the risk of pursuing a dream couldn't be worse than continuing to work in the conditions they faced. They tentatively reached out for something different and gained strength from that first move forward.

These individuals find an awkward period of time as they learn to rely more and more on their own set of directives. The reason this is true is many are conditioned to only accept direction from their employer and have some have been punished for having an opinion that conflicts with the employee consumer (boss). For some it is a startling revelation that they might be able to make good decisions.

I honestly believe everyone needs to find a place where his or her creative energies are determined to be useful. This can be in either a team oriented workplace or in a personally directed entrepreneurial effort.

Far too many working men and women feel a sense of futility in their endeavors. The wheels are spinning, but they are going nowhere. The frustrations they feel trickle down to their family and friends - and it never stops there.

I guess you could say I am for team-oriented business and I am also for the entrepreneurial spirit. Often these two approaches to business provide personal satisfaction and a sense of meaning to what others have come to view as meaningless.